Easy Definition of Besmirch
And I would never tarnish her reputation by suggesting that she did. Besmirch may sound a little weird, but it goes hand in hand with other hurtful words like defamation and slander. It can also literally mean staining something. So at that time, you were following the mud all over the new white carpet and then blaming your little brother? It was a double stain – smearing the carpet and then falsely blaming a brother or sister. The TRC`s results were also “capricious and arbitrary” and would “tarnish” the legitimate struggle against apartheid. By attacking critics who try to “defile” Tharoor by “presenting me as a proxy for him,” I will idealize you until you get dirty – but you`re not a child to do it without knowing it. Anchor it – yes; dirty him, make him superficially impure, unfit, bad – yes. Villa issued a statement on Wednesday accusing Sunderland of wanting to “tarnish” the club`s name, but the dispute shows little sign of abating as Bruce tries to fill an even bigger void with news that loanee Danny Welbeck has undergone surgery to repair torn knee cartilage and will be absent for up to eight weeks. Phil Spector signaled a possible change in tactics on the part of the defense, which had promised not to “stain” murdered actress Lana Clarkson.
I hate tarnishing the reputation of an innocent dog, but often his personality is like a rabid pit bull. Her Maid is a diabolical attempt to tarnish the pure character of Joan of Arc. Since the prefix be- in besmirch means “to do or to cause” when you stain something, you make him smile. What is a smile? A smile is a place, and smiling something means staining or smearing it. In a broader sense, the verb smile meant “to discredit or shame.” So Smirch and Besmirch mean essentially the same thing. He had come to Italy to buy the name of the House of Gobignon, not to smear it further. GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): A warning from Michael Jackson`s lawyer to those who, quote, want to “tarnish” the reputation of the King of Pop. Although Couric included some of Ginsburg`s criticisms in the finished product, she decided to omit that particular beard, fearing it would tarnish the reputation of someone she was a “fan of.” Before Sullivan, states maintained strict defamation laws to protect the reputation of individuals in their communities from degradation. She had kept silent that they would not tarnish her father`s name and perhaps she would protect the other woman.
Dirty means being dirty or smearing, especially someone`s reputation – like calling Billy a kickball cheater (even if you know he`s just better than you for bunting). (By the way, Svalgaard provides a very powerful rebuttal of the PU website that so many EU supporters like to quote (this is June 22, 17:43:13, or search for “besmirch”): “The site is fundamentally fraudulent in its claims and reflects the pseudo-science of its promoter. The KwaZulu-Natal ANC denied Mhlongo`s testimony, saying it was being used to “defile” the ANC. If anyone works day and night to tarnish the reputation of the Pit Bulls, it is the Pit Bulls themselves. Ms Pushkar, who reportedly wanted to get married, criticised critics who tried to “defile” Mr Tharoor by “presenting me as an agent for him”, saying it was “offensive to me as a wife and friend”. Find the answers online with Practical English Usage, your essential guide to English language problems. – Peter Reading, Ménage à Trois, from The Prison Cell & Barrel Mystery, 1976. Join our community to access the latest language learning and assessment tips from Oxford University Press! Do “skeleton” filaments give structure to the universe? | Universe Today Use the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app to find out which words work together and create more natural English.